Angelina and Brad Pitt had great chemistry on and off screenCredit: Reuters

In the unlikely event the fairy-tale romance turned sour, I believed they would handle the whole thing with dignity and respect for one another.

After all, they have six children together and seemed the kind of parents, who would not want to drag their kids through a messy divorce case or custody battle. Well, I was wrong about the messy divorce.

Brad and Angelinas divorce has been playing out with claim and counter-claimCredit: Reuters

Sock! Angelina then put the boot in by saying that most of the money was just a loan that she’s having to pay back with interest.

Wham! He claims she wants to manipulate the media into branding him a deadbeat dad.

It once again proves that no one knows what’s going on inside someone else’s marriage.

It might look perfect bliss on the outside, but we have no idea what tense battles are being fought on a daily basis behind closed doors.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's marriage must have been strained for a whileCredit: AP:Associated Press

Despite us all being spoon-fed stories of their perfect relationship over the years, and shown photos of their wedding when the children drew pictures on Angelina’s beautiful white dress, it appears that this relationship has been on the rocks for quite some time.

Brad’s friends claim she is fired up with anger over the custody battle and doesn’t want the children to have any sort of relationship with their father.

They have slammed her for going public instead of having the divorce hammered out in front of a private judge.

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Brad Pitt and Angelina in more harmonious times in 2012, both looking immaculateCredit: Editorial Specials - Getty

Her friends counterclaim that he drank too much and was “rough” with one of the children, thought to be Maddox, the eldest, while they were on a private plane.

He was cleared of any wrongdoing, but mud sticks and this was highly damaging as well as deeply distressing for Brad.

These two extremely gifted, pampered, beautiful people might have met on a movie set and become infatuated with each other, but this is not a film.

This is real life and there are six bewildered youngsters caught up in the eye of the storm.

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Too much... Brad and Angelina could not take the strain of family lifeCredit: Roddy Scott

Shiloh and the twins are the biological children of Brad and Angelina, but they have all been brought up to think of themselves as full brothers and sisters, and just one big family.

So it must now be extremely unsettling for them to see all the news reports about custody fights and money squabbles, and to have witnessed friends of their parents forced into taking sides.

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Angelina Jolie now has a team of nannies and bodyguards to help her kidsCredit: Getty - Contributor

I have no idea whether the children witnessed any arguments or screaming matches between their parents, but there surely must have been an uncomfortable atmosphere at home in the months before the split.

The poor, wee children actually have their own psychiatrists that Brad’s friends claim he pays for.

And they have round-the-clock bodyguards available.

As with so many splits, money has reared its ugly head, and despite their enormous wealth (it’s estimated that Brad is worth £202million and that Angelina has a personal fortune of £125million) it would appear that it’s all coming down to cold, hard cash.

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Brad Pitt is paying millions of pounds to support his familyCredit: Getty Images - Getty

We are a long, long way from the heady Brangelina days when they were the world’s sexiest couple and couldn’t keep their hands off each other.

Sadly, most white-hot affairs tend to fizzle out when domesticity kicks in and you need to change nappies and wipe snot from little faces.

JEREMY CLARKSON

LORRAINE KELLY

ROSS CLARK

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Even with a team of nannies, six children running around is probably one of the biggest passion killers of all time.

So, it’s a real shame that Brad and Angelina couldn’t make it work, but sadder still that their dirty washing is being aired for all the world to see.

But theirs is not the only love story to turn rancid . . .

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Let's face it... romances often end in disasterCredit: Rex Features

ROMEO and Juliet ended in tragedy; at the end of Gone With The Wind, Rhett tells Scarlett that he doesn’t give a damn about her; reality TV romances rarely last beyond the first glossy magazine spread.

Docs go boozing like us

I’M not in the least bit surprised that doctors don’t trust us to tell the truth when it comes to how much booze we guzzle.

Apparently they nod wisely when we solemnly declare that we have but one small sherry on a Sunday night while watching Songs of Praise, and then they simply double whatever we say or put down a number that seems most likely.

She had a very tough time but she tried hard to sort out her life and cope with her illness.

We should remember her in her heyday.

I loved the fact she wasn’t a conventional glamour puss at a time when any actress playing the “love interest” in an action movie was usually a busty blonde doing little more than squeaking and waiting to be rescued.

Lois Lane was a kick-ass reporter who adored Superman but also made fun of him during four movies between 1978 and 1987.

Those films had real heart and soul and – if you ignore the rather wobbly special effects – are far more entertaining than many of the over-long, over-loud and rather self-important superhero movies of today.

A sorry affair

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Boris Johnson should not apologise for his comments on the burkaCredit: Andrew Parsons

I’M no fan of his, but I don’t think Boris Johnson should be forced to apologise for likening woman who wear burkas to letter boxes.

It’s his opinion.

You very well might disagree, but getting him to say sorry won’t make him stop thinking such thoughts.

He will just stop writing and uttering that particular view in public and instead will voice it in private.